Special Assignment

Huey P. Newton Returns From China - 1971

By Billy X

The Black Panther Party (BPP) has always had an
international outlook and believed in worldwide revolution.
It was a monumental event for The People's Republic of China
to recognize the Black Panther Party in solidarity and to
invite Huey P. Newton to visit.

In 1971, the United States was trying to establish better
relations with China. Richard Nixon was president at that
time and going to be the first U.S. president to visit China
and Chairman Mao. Huey P. Newton and the BPP delegation
upstaged him when it was announced that they were officially
invited and were going to visit. The BPP delegation visited
China before President Nixon, so when Huey was returning, it
was big news and his press conference was well attended.

Huey was met by BPP members at the San Francisco airport and
the press conference was held there in a room with a big
table. Up front were Elaine Brown, Huey, Robert Bay and
Charles Garry. We had already checked the room out for
security purposes and we greeted Huey as he entered the
room. The security team included Emory Douglas (Minister of
Culture) John Seale, Van Taylor, Phillip, myself (Billy X),
Michael Torrance and Eugene Baltazar. The reporters were in
frenzy as they jockeyed for position with their tape
recorders and microphones in hand. There were about 20
reporters from radio, TV, and the press. Charles introduced
Huey, Huey spoke, and then Elaine Brown (Minister of
Information) spoke. Huey was very articulate in discussing
internationalism and China.